Lifting device for demountable wheels



Sept. 2 1924. 1,506,833

. P. R. HlGGlNBQTHAM LIFTING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE WHEELS Filed larch 1O 1 2 3 Shuts-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. P401. B. Hlq l/vaorflw.

Sept. 2, 1924. 1,5

P. R. HIGGINBOTHAM LIFTING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE WHEELS Filed llarch 1O 192 3 Shoots-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

PA U1. 8 H1 mam/(AM.

Sept. 2 1924.

P. R. HIGGINBOTHAM LIFTING DEVICE FOR DBMOUNTABLE WHEELS Filed March 10 1922 3 Shoots-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

I wheel to or from the carrier.

Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL R. HIGGINBOTHAM, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO BUDD WHEEL COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN SYLVANIA.

Application filed March 10,

To all whom it may coowern:

Be it known that I, PAUL R. HIGGIN- BOTILAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lifting Devices for Demountable Wheels, of which I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improved lifting device for demountable wheels and has to do, more particularly, with an improved device or tool for lifting demountable disc wheels from the ground to the spare wheel carrier or dummy hub.

Spare disc wheels are usually carried on a dummy hub, secured to the rear end of the automobile 'body at some little distance above the ground, and the removal of a spare wheel from this hub or carrier, or the lifting of a spare wheel up tosuch carrier, is

" of my invention is to provide a simple tool or device to facilitate the lifting of a demountable disc wheel from the ground to the carrier or the lowering of such a wheel from the carrier to the ground. Another object of my invention is to provide a tool or device which gives the operator a mechanical advantage in lifting or lowering a demountable disc wheel to or from the carrier and which also affords a convenient means for handling and controlling suchdisc wheel during the lifting or lowering movement. A further object of my invention is to provide a tool having the advantageous features described above, which may be folded in a very compact space so that it may be conveniently stored in the automobile. A further object of my invention is to provide a tool having the advantages set forth above and which may be very quickly and easily applied in position for use in raising or lowering the demountable disc A further object of my invention is to provide a very simple and easily manipulated tool, for raising or lowering a demountable disc wheel to or from the wheel carrier, which may be constructed very cheaply and economically.

Further objects, and objects relating to details and economies of operation and construction, will definitely appear from the LIF'IING DEVICE FOR DEMO'UNTABLE WHEELS.

1922. Serial No. 542,723.

detailed description to follow. In one instance, I accomplish the objects of my invention by the devices and means described in the following specification. My invention is clearly defined and pointed out in the appended claims. A structure constituting a preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of the rear end of an automobile in side elevation, showing a .disc wheel carrier and the disc wheel thereon in section, and illustrating the application of my tool for use in lowering the disc wheel from the carrier to the round. The position of the disc wheel an the tool, when the wheel has been lowered to the ground, is shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a detail, sectional view of a portion of the carrier, wheel and tool, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing in full lines, the wheel and tool in lowered position, and, in dotted lines, in an intermediate position.

Fig. 4 is a view of the carrier in front elevation, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fi 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing t e wheel hanging freely on the notched supporting pin of the carrier, ready to be lifted therefrom by the tool.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the wheel lifting tool, and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the tool folded for storage.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views and the sectional view is taken looking in the direction of the arrows at the ends of the section lines.

In general, my invention consists in providing a lever which is fulcrumed on a swinging orfloating link detachably connected to or carried on the spare wheel carrier, or some other fixed support on the automobile. I prefer to provide the dummy hub or spare wheel carrier with a transverse bar or portion, over which one end of the floating link may be hooked, the other end of said floating link being pivot-ally connected to the lever. For convenience in storage and handling, I prefer to make the lever in two sections, which are jointed so that they may be folded together. It has been that a very small mechanical advantage is obtained when the movement of the lever is confined within the range, which is practicable. Accordin to my invention, I substitute a shifting fulcrum for such a lever, in place of the fixed fulcrum heretofore employed, and this enables me to get the desired mechanical advantage in lifting the wheel, without having to swing the end of 4 the lever through such a large range of movement.

Referring to the numbered parts of the drawing, I have shown the rear end of an automobile body, 10, upon which a spare wheel carrier or dummy hub, 11, is supported by the braces or brackets, 12. This carrier or dummy hub is. designed to carry the demountable disc wheel, l3., which has a central o ning and a marginal flange, 14, around said opening. The tool or lifting device works-through this central opening in the disc wheel and engages this flange. Arranged at ual distances from the center of the whee around this central opening, are a plurality of perforated sockets, 15, through which the threaded studs, 16, on the carrier, extend. The disc wheel is held in place on the carrier by conical nuts, 17, screwed on such studs and projecting into said sockets. At the upper portion of the carrier, instead of a threaded stud, 16, a stud, or post, 18, is provided, extending through the corresponding perforated socket of the disc and provided with a hook or notch, 19, in its upper edge. When the various nuts, 17, are removed from the threaded studs, 16, the wheel may be gently pulled forward until it hangs suspended on this stud, 18, being prevented from slipping therefrom by the notch, 19. The stud, 18,

may be perforated, at 20, to receive the shackle of a padlock for locking the disc wheel on the carrier. The carrier, 11, is provided with a vertical slot, 21, extending upwardly from the lower edge thereof, through which the tool or lifting lever works. A transverse bar,. 22, is secured to the rear face of the carrier in such position that it bridges the upper part of the slot, 21.

My improved lifting device or tool includes a link, 23, the upper portion of which is formed into a hook, 24. The opposite end of said link is pivotally connected by the pin, 25, to one end'of a lever section, 26. The opposite end of said lever section, 26, has the upper edge thereof formed into a notch or hook, 27, which is adapted to receive the flange, 14, of the disc wheel in lifting or lowering the wheel to or from the carrier. Said end of the lever section,

26, is pivotally connected by the pin, 28, to the outer or handle section, 29, of the lever, and the latter has a laterally projecting ear, 30, at the rear end, which is adapted to overlap and engage the upper edge of the lever section, 26, in the rear of thehook, 27.

It will be seen that the lever made up of the two sections, 26 and 29, is fulcrumed on the floating link, 23, at the point, 25. The load is applied to the lever at the hook, 27, and power is applied to the forward end of the handle. When the forward end of the handle is moved upwardly to lift a load resting on the hook, 27, the lever section, 29, turns on the pivot, 28, until the ear, 30, engages the edge of the lever section, 26, and, thereafter, the two sections move together as a single lever having its fulcrum at the point, 25. The use of the two sections jointed together to form the lever gives very long lever'arms so that it is possible to secure a considerable mechanical advantage in lifting the wheel and it permits the folding of the sections into very compact space when the tool is to be stored and carried in the car. It is to be noted that the fulcrum for this lever is not fixed but floats, as the link, 23, swings around its support on the transverse bar, 22, of the carrier. This gives a floating or shifting fulcrum for the lever and, consequently, I am able to secure the desired mechanical advantage in lifting the wheel without the need of so great a range of movement of the handle of the tool, as I would be the case if the fulcrum were fixed. Furthermore, this gives greater flexibility in manipulating the wheel, in that it does not need to be located each time at the same distance from the carrier in order to insert the tool in proper relationship for lifting the wheel from the ground to the dummy hub. The floating link, 23, thus enables one to use the tool without bringing the spare wheel to a definite fixed point on the ground with relation to the carrier, before applying the tool to lift the wheel.

In Fig.1, the disc wheel is shown upon the spare wheel. carrier or dummy hub, 11. If one desires to release the wheel and lower it to the ground, the nuts, 17 are removed, and the wheel is pulled gently forward until the edge of the perforation in the upper socket, 15, rests in the notch, 19, of the stud, 18, and the wheel is suspended freely on said pin or stud. The link, 23, is swung to a position in which it lies alongside of the section, 26, of the lever and the pivotally connected ends of said link and lever section are inserted through the central opening in the disc and through the slot, 21, of the carrier, 11, and passed therethrough until the hook, 24, engages the transverse bar,22, on the carrier, so that the floating link is anchored at its upper end. The user now grasps the handle section, 29, of the lever and lifts the same until the hook, 27, engages the flange, 14, surrounding the central opening in the disc wheel. A slight lift on the handle of the lever is sufficient to dislodge the wheel from the pin or stud, 18, and the wheel is transferred by this movement from its support on the carrier to its support on the hook, 27, of the lever, on which it hangs freely in a Vertical position. The operator now lowers the wheel to the ground by means of the lever,

which turns on the pivot, 25, during the lowering operation. The'floating fulcrum link,'23, may also swing on its pivotal support on the bar, 22, during the lowering op eration, so as to facilitate the landing of the wheel on the ground in the desired position. The handle section, 29, of the lever, may be withdrawn through the central opening in the disc and the Wheel rolled away. In lifting a wheel from the ground to the carrier, the wheel is held, by the operator upright upon the ground, somewhat in the rear of the carrier, and the hook; 24, of the floating fulcrum link is hooked over the transverse bar, 22, of the carrier, 11. The operator then passes the handle section, 29, of the tool through the central opening in the disc wheel until the hook, 27, engages the flange, 14, surrounding said central opening. The operator now lifts on the end of the handle section, 29, of the lever and thus raises the wheel, at the same time swinging it toward the carrier, such action being facilitated by the swin ing fulcrum link, 23. The operator raises t e wheel and moves it toward the carrier until the stud, 18, passes through the proper perforated socket, 15, of the disc wheel, whereupon he lowers the lever slightly, allowing the disc wheel to hang upon the stud, 18. The lever can now be removed throu h the slot, '21, and the central opening of t e disc and the wheel securely fastened in place by screwing the nuts, 17, on the threaded studs, 16, and, if desired, passing the shackle of a padlock through the opening, 20, of the stud, 18.

When not in use, the lifting tool may be folded very compactly, as shown in Fig. 6, for storage in the automobile.

I am aware that the lifting device, which I have disclosed in this specification, may be altered considerably without departing from the spirit of my invention and, therefore, I claim my invention broadly, as indicated by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lifting device for demountable wheels comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and means carrier,

providing a shifting fulcrum for said lever.

2. A lifting device for demountable wheels comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and means, carried by the spare wheel carrier, and providing a shifting fulcrum for said lever.

3. A lifting device for demountable wheels comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and a swinging link pivotally connected to one end of said lever and detachably connected to a fixed support.

4. A device for lifting demountable wheels into carrying position on a spare wheel carrier, comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and a swinging link pivotally connected to one end of said lever and having a detachable and pivotal connection with a fixed su port on said carrier.

5. A- evice'for lifting demountable wheels into carrying position on a spare wheel carrier, compnsin a lever insertable through the centra aperture of the wheel and a swinging link pivotally connected to one end of said lever and having, at its opposite end, a hook adapted to be detachably connected with a fixed support on said carrier.

6. A device for lifting demountable wheels into carrying position on a spare wheel comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel, and having one edge formed to provide a seat for that portion of the wheel at the upper edge of the central aperture therein, and means providing a shifting fulcrum for said lever.

7. A device for lifting demountable wheels into carrying position on a spare wheel carrier, comprlsing a .lever insertable through the central-aperture of the wheel, and having one edge formed to provide a seat for that portion of the wheel at the upper edge of the central aperture therein, and a member pivotally connected to said carrier and providing a shifting fulcrum for said lever.

8. A device for lifting demountable wheels into carrying position on a spare wheel carrier, comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel, and having one edge formed to provide a seat for that portion of the wheel at the up or edge of the central aperture therein, and a link pivotally connected to one end -of said lever A and provided with a hook by means of which it may be detachably and ivotally connected to a fixed support on said carrier.

9. A device for lifting demountable wheels into carryi'ng'position on a spare wheel carrier, comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and including two lever sections pivotally connected together, one of said sections having a seahzlz'or that portion of the wheel at theup'per edge of the central aperture therein, and a link pivotally connected to said lever section and provided with a hook adapted to be detachably and pivotally connected to a fixed support on the carrier.

10. The combination with a carrier for demountable wheels provided with a vertical slot and a cross member bridging said slot, of a device for lifting demountable wheels comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and working in said slot and a link' detachably and pivotally connected with said cross memher and providing a shifting fulcrum for said lever.

11. The combination with a carrier for demountable wheels provided with a vertical slot and a cross bar bridging said slot, of a device for lifting demountable wheels comprising a lever insertable through the central aperture of the wheel and working in said slot and a link pivotally connected to one end of said lever and provided witha hook adapted to be detac with said cross bar. v

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

PAUL R. HIGGINBOTHAM.

ably engaged 

